1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to devices and methods for detecting, recording and reproducing the effects or expression of piano pedals which occur during piano performances, and more particularly to a piano pedal optical sensor apparatus and method which accurately detects and records piano pedal expression, which accurately reproduces the piano pedal expression, and which is quickly and easily retrofitable to existing acoustic pianos.
2. Description of the Background Art
Reproduction of piano music has long been carried out by "player pianos" which reproduce the notes of musical pieces on the player piano by mechanically, optically or electronically reading a recording of stored musical information from an information storage medium such as punched tape or magnetic or optical disk, and then actuating keys to strike strings according to the stored musical information. Accurate recording of the musical expression from a piano performance is necessary to avoid unexpressive, mechanical-sounding reproduction of the piano music. In order to faithfully reproduce a piano performance, every nuance and subtlety of the original performance must be captured and recorded.
One aspect of piano performances which is difficult to capture and record is the pedal movement or pedalling expression of a pianist which is generated by foot pedal activation of string damping and key shifting mechanisms within the piano. During a piano performance, the pianist will move and hold the foot activated pedals over a large range of positions which extend between the fully depressed and fully released pedal positions. Previously developed devices and methods for recording piano pedal movement have all proved deficient in that they are not able to precisely measure and recreate the pedal expression of the original performance. Particularly, currently known pedal expression recording devices tend to detect a two-state actuation wherein pedal expression is recorded as an "on" or "off" signal which is then reproduced as a fully depressed or fully released pedalling effect. This arrangement results in an undesirable mechanical sound in the reproduced piano music since the numerous intermediate pedal positions generated during the actual piano performance are not recorded and reproduced. Attempts have also been made to produce devices that record intermediate or "half" pedal positions, but these devices have proven ineffective.
Another problem associated with previously used pedal sensing devices and methods is that they are difficult to install and use on different pianos. During the many years in which acoustic pianos have been manufactured or produced by many sources, a very large number of different pedal mechanisms and designs have been employed. However, currently available pedal movement sensing devices generally are specialized for specific types of pedal mechanisms, and thus different acoustic pianos from different sources cannot easily be modified or retrofitted to accommodate the pedal sensing devices.
Therefore, there is a need for a piano pedal optical sensor apparatus and method which accurately records every nuance and aspect of piano pedal movement and expression, which eliminates mechanical sounding piano music reproduction, and which can be easily installed on all varieties and makes of conventional acoustic pianos. The present invention satisfies those needs, as well as others, and generally overcomes the deficiencies found in the background art.